Together Together
by omegafire17
Summary: Ren and Nora, friends for sooo long, even before they came to Beacon. But throughout Nora's talks about them being together this long, she's always denied they were 'together-together', which he never really minded. Now though, an interesting use of her phrase may change things. RenXNora, Rated T.


**Disclaimer:** Don't RWBY or any of it's characters. Those belong to RoosterTeeth and Monty Oum.

**Rating:** T

**May be loosely placed after the original 'Alone Time', but otherwise, probably won't take place in the same plotline. Still, enjoy XD**

* * *

"Ooh, that ones looks like a Death Stalker! Don't you think so!?"

He didn't try to answer, and she continued on anyway (as he knew she would). "Ooh ooh, what about that one!? It's rather elongated, but it could pass for a King Taijitu!"

Now that one he could sorta see; it was rather long and twisting, much like the snake Grimm itself, just a lot smaller.

Beside him on the blanket, Nora let out a great sigh, both happy and thoughtful, the latter being sorta rare for her. "Shame it doesn't have any legs to break" she said, head tilted.

"It's got fangs though" he answered mildly, laying two feet away, hands under his head.

"Oh, I saw what you did to that black-and-white one during our initiation" she said brightly, looking straight at him, grinning. "But it's just not the same, Ren!"

_"Never is"_ he thought, unsurprised.

"And speaking of not the same, what secret are Jaune and Pyrrha trying to hide?"

"Hmm?" he breathed, more a sound than a response.

"Haven't you seen them lately?" she asked, moving onto her side, aimed at him. "They've been friendly toward each other (he might have tried to say something, but she didn't give him a chance), I mean, _really_ really friendly toward each other. Clearly something more than training is going on up there. Oh! Perhaps they're trying to tell us something, and using signals to do it instead of words! Or maybe even-"

"They've been holding hands, Nora" he said, with some exasperation. "That practically makes them together. Together-together."

While a little surprised at his use of her 'together-together' phrase, it didn't stop her for long. "How can they be if they haven't told us?" she questioned, breaking out into another grin. "It's still a secret what they're doing, until they tell us!"

Why did he try? Still, even as Nora continued off for some length, he was not remotely annoyed; he couldn't be at this girl. Somehow, being her friend since childhood had made him immune to annoyance, since if he could handle her every day for years, he could handle most anything.

"-they haven't even tried to kiss in front of us, if they are together-together." she continued, unconsciously wrapping herself around his arm (he was not surprised). "Not that I would mind if I was together-together with you, Ren, but still, our other teammates are being secretive!"

He made a sound, laying there as Nora went on at length, yet again. Well, he supposed he could have had a boring childhood friend, and then he'd never have-

He blinked.

Did Nora just say what he thought she'd said?

_"Not that I would mind if I was together-together with you, Ren, but still-"_

_"She wouldn't mind?"_ he thought to himself, glancing over at Nora, who was still going off at length.

Her going-off-at-length was perfectly normal, but she seemed not to be aware of what she'd just said - something he knew was uncharacteristic of her, from experience. She appeared/was/is in her own little world, but she still heard things quite clearly. And the fact that she (apparently) didn't mind meant she could feel anything from _actual_ 'I wouldn't mind', to outright love for him - but she hadn't said anything. Because she feared her saying her feelings would drive him away? No, she knew him better than that- wait, if she said she loved him, and he didn't feel that way back, it could change things.

Ah, so that might be it. Nora absolutely hated things changing between her and friends, especially him; it wasn't readily apparent, but it did exist.

Which left him with pressing questions: how did he feel about all that? And what will he do about it once he had that answer?

He knew the general details of how romance went. He may not actively seek out partners like many, but he did know enough - so the question was, did he want (or even expect) Nora and him to 'work out'?

She was pretty, cute, probably both. She had a boundless level of energy he never understood (just dealt with), and a mind that was more-than-a-little out there, plus a 'tendency' to enjoy violent solutions. Sometimes her lack of attention span and antics caused him grief, but other than the mild irritation, he never found himself wishing she would stop or change her ways. Plus, in a way, her energy contrasted nicely with his quiet, reserved person, though not in a way that made things truly impossible. So far the list of positives was going well for this.

The one key negative he could think of was Nora's hatred of things changing. If they were together-together as she put it, dated for a few months, even years, and they didn't work out? How would she react? He doubted he'd let anything wreck his friendship with Nora, and he trusted she wouldn't let go of him without a fight, but her potential reaction still worried him. The fact that she'd remained silent about her (potential) feelings, just so that they stayed good friends, was telling.

_"And all of this is if Nora has feelings for me"_ he finally thought, still laying there, though noticing Nora had let go of his arm (she seemed to be coming near the end of her current 'at length' speech). _"She herself said she 'wouldn't mind', but what does that mean exactly?"_

He wasn't sure, but well, first step first: understand before he took any action.

"Hey Ren?"

He slowly looked at her, noting her voice was softer than before, in terms of volume. "Yeah?"

"Do you like this?" she asked, squeezing his arm briefly, giving him little doubt.

He was mildly confused why she was asking him that.

She smiled. "I mean, I do this every now and then, but you say nothing" she said mildly, but still soft. "No good reaction, no bad one, no 'oh Nora is being her usual self' even; you just go with it. What do you think about it?"

He thought carefully there, taking a few seconds. "I do sorta like it" he finally answered. "I just don't draw attention to that fact."

"What does 'sorta' mean, Ren?" she asked, as if his last statement hadn't happened.

Alright then, let him try something else.

He slowly leaned back to look up at the clouds, a faint smile on his face. "You said you wouldn't mind being together-together" he said answered, glancing at Nora - who displayed confusion at what he meant, quick thinking, surprised (and somewhat horrified) realization that she'd said that, and worry about his reaction... all in a split-second. "With someone" he added, deciding not to bring up the last part, yet. "What did you mean?"

She tried to hide her relief (she really did), but he saw it regardless. "Oh, well you know" she said airily, but got better. "I like this guy, but he's also my friend! I don't want to change that if things go wrong, and things _always_ try to go wrong in those stories!"

So she did like him... all right then.

"But this isn't a story, Nora" he answered mildly. "This is reality."

"Yeah, but-!"

"And if this someone-" he interrupted, truly surprising her. "-has been friends with you for this long, and is used to you, maybe even loves you, why worry about things changing? They haven't yet, and aren't likely to."

She opened her mouth to say something, only stopped, enough that he saw her little 'fangs' for an extended period. Then her expression got rather shrewd, pointing a finger at him. "Wait a minute" she said. "How do you know so much about this, Ren? And why are you so passionate about it?"

Coming from anyone else, that might have seemed absurd, but he paid it no heed. He simply remained silent, looking at her for a moment before turning his gaze to the clouds.

"Ren? Ren! Reeeeen!"

Interestingly, he found out that last one was sorta... endearing to him.

Meanwhile, she moved herself over his head, getting right in his vision (which worked out for him). "Even you can't ignore me like this, Ren" she said, waving a hand in front of his face. "I'm too me for that!"

He did not react, except for: "Then come closer, Nora."

She was surprised, blinking with her mouth open, but she slowly did so - stopping at two inches (not an uncommon boundary for her).

"Closer."

Her face took up his entire view now, which was not a bad thing, being an inch away.

"Would any closer work?"

But Nora knew enough to stop things right there, quickly pulling away: "Woah woah woah woah WOAH, Ren!" she called, waving her arms rapidly before stopping at outstretched. "I appreciate you trying to help, but you can't help me practice like this!"

He moved his hands underneath his frame, sitting up. "Who said anything about practice, Nora?"

In a split-second, he saw her expression go from surprise to recognition... then she stood up. "Now you're freaking me out, Ren!"

_"Oh boy"_ he thought, mentally sighing; he saw that she recognized him 'coming onto her' (maybe, from her view), and despite liking it, she still didn't want to risk their friendship. As a result, she was dealing with it by pretending this wasn't happening, or trying to move it elsewhere... not exactly her normal response. That only ramped up the importance for her even more.

Must he do everything himself?

He stood up as well, and before Nora could attempt anything, he grabbed her by both wrists. She was startled by his action, enough that she squealed (in surprise), rapidly looking between him, his grip, something on both sides, and everywhere else you could imagine all in seconds. He let her adjust, standing at a respectable distance despite his grip, saying nothing.

"Uh-" she breathed, glancing at his grip again; he'd never seen her this subdued before. "Ren?"

He still said nothing, but he did step closer, but not too close yet. He loosened his grip, then slowly started moving it up her arms, and paused at her shoulders. Nora followed his every movement, then slowly looked at him again.

"You're not gonna do anything?" he asked mildly, as if this was normal. "_You_, Nora?"

She blinked several times, but amazingly, she was silent and did nothing.

When this became clear to him, he slowly sighed a bit, moving his hand again - Nora moved a little when they touched her neck, her jawline, and finally resting on her cheeks.

Just when he thought he'd have to do yet another first step, Nora's arms jerked... then pulled him in, hard.

"Mmph!"

Basically summed up the noises they both made in response.

In that one second, he felt Nora's lips against his (softer than he'd expected), along with near her whole body pressing against his, before she pulled away.

They looked at each other, him noting neither of them had turned red. "...why?" he asked.

Nora giggled. "They always say the first kiss is the hardest" she said, managing a grin. "Well, now that's broken!"

He should have been surprised, or exasperated, or something like that - but instead, he simply prepared himself, moving his hands on her cheeks slightly.

She quickly got the hint, willingly wrapping her hands around his neck, even as she leaned in for the kiss.

Now actually having time to enjoy this, he gently kissed her back, moving his lips against hers slowly. The sensation that hit him the strongest was, strangely, how moist her lips were. At the same time, he felt Nora's fingers moving slightly against his neck, apparently toying with the longer part of his hair. He didn't mind that, but when his fingers touched her hair at one point, she seemed to like that.

Somewhere in the back of his mind, he noted she was being rather restrained, at least compared to her usual behavior. Then again, neither she nor he had done this before, so perhaps he could not accurately judge.

Overall, he thought the kiss lasted twenty seconds before they drew apart, but still rather close.

And again, as the seconds passed, he saw a strange lack of response from Nora (compared to the usual, at least).

"Uh-" he breathed, blinking once. "Well, Nora?"

A full second passed, then she broke out in a grin... a maniacal grin you only see on crazy people.

_"Oh no"_ he thought in response, seeing her about to break into a squee-filled reaction.

When will he learn?

"Okay, first thing" she said breathily, startling him (because he'd been expecting the explosion). Then she took a finger and tapped him on the nose. "Boop."

Despite himself, he broke into a small smile.

_Then_ came the explosion: "GEEEEEEYAAAAAHWOOHOO! YES!"

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**Ah, Nora, one of the goofiest cucko-badasses we've seen in recent times :P And Ren, the childhood friend (we assume) who keeps her in check, or tries to, lol**

**I have wanted to try these two for a little, but wasn't quite sure how to work on Ren's personality, or how he thinks. I was thinking of waiting till Vol. 2 in July to get more info, but then I had an idea - this is the result :) Certainly interesting, I think, and hope it does justice**

**And for anyone wondering if I'll do more for these two, I'm certainly open to that possibility, but it would depend on having a good idea first. Which don't come out on a regular basis lol**


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